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If you've noticed the lack of fashion posts on the blog, it's because the weather has been horrible for the past couple of weeks but things are finally looking up and I was able to go out, take some pictures and only got rained on "once". Now that's what I call a successful day.

This is clearly a crisp white button down and bumblebee print(out of frame) appreciation post. If you've already got the hint about what on earth is going on here then I'm glad but in case you are still confused, this is an outfit post inspired by Louisa Clarke from Me Before You(played by Emilia Clarke). Yes, I've been talking about it everywhere ever since I saw the film - real life, social media and also mentioned it in my Spring favourites.

I talked about this LA Girl Pro HD powder in my last post - here but I didn't go too much in depth about it. So today I am going to talk about everything that I think about this powder and compare it another drugstore powder from Freedom Makeup that seems to promise the same effects. I've been using the Freedom Makeup Pressed Powder for a month now( after I shattered my Rimmel Stay Matte) and wanted to try out other affordable drugstore powders that hopefully also keep my oily skin matte throughout the day. I picked up the LA Girl Pro HD Pressed Powder only a week or two ago especially because it's the powder version of the infamous Pro HD Concealors that are known for being amazing affordable products. So let's hop in it!

#1 Price:

The LA Girl powder costs $8.00 while the Freedom Makeup costs only£2which is approximately $1.32 and it's extremely affordable when compared to the LA Girl.

#2 Packaging:

As the price suggests, I was expecting the L.A Girl powder to have much better packing. It does come with a decently sized and good quality mirror which is very handy and an extra sponge in the packaging. I also noticed that the packaging is an exact dupe of the Sephora Mineral powder and it would be interesting to know if the powders are actual dupes as well. (Let me know if anyone has tried the Sephora powder) The Freedom Makeup powder packaging is very disappointing. The plastic was very bad quality and the hinges are already coming out in mine.

If you're wondering why I haven't put up a fashion post in a while, it's because it has been absolutely pouring everyday for the past week or two.I hope it gets a little sunny in the weekend when I actually have the time to go out and shoot. I love rainy days and all the good things that go with it like books, a cup of tea and a cozy blanket. However, it can be quite annoying and inconvenient when it comes to actually making your makeup look good on such days for more than thirty minutes in the morning when you've just put it on. I've put together this post of my favourite makeup items for rainy days.

The L.A Girl Pro HD Pressed Powder is a new addition to my stash and it also has a post coming up on it very soon on the blog. It's a new release from La Girl cosmetics and I love this matte, oil free formula for setting my makeup and keeping me shine free for long hours of the day with minimum touch up. I do get very oily on rainy days when the humidity rises uncontrollably. Clean and Clear Oil Control Sheets is a holy grail product when it comes to people with oily skin and it's no different for me. I love using this before setting my face with the HD powder to remove any excess oil and dirt. I've seen a lot of high end versions of these oil absorbing sheets and this one does it's job just as well. Lips! Finding a good lipstick that stays on has become a little bit easier in the past year or so, thanks to the sudden rise of the liquid lipsticks. This one is called Ultra Velour Lip Cream by Makeup Revolution in the shade 'Can't we just make love instead' which is the perfect nudey pink/peach, everyday shade and stays on through meals and pouring rain too.

I came across this idea for a post when I was having a crappy day and was frantically looking for something to cheer me up. I have always had this little folder of rescue bookmarks as I like to keep them in my browser where I periodically store inspirational or funny sayings and links. Basically anything that really uplifts my mood and motivates me to go back to whatever I was doing. I figured I'll share a few things with you all as well so that you can check back if you're having a bad day yourself. These range from semi-serious to quite random and silly links because I find that's what works for me and I hope you will like seeing them as well.

This is the excerpt from J.K Rowling's interview for BBC years ago. Although the actual video can be found on youtube but, I love reading it rather than watching. I don't know maybe it's because I like reading way more and the video's editing was not so on fleek (Haha) considering all the stuff people do now. She talks about how she put in little details of her life into her books and everything she had to overcome to get where she was in 2002(and is now). I mean, yeah I'm sure all of us already know her story too well but reading this really gives me hope when I'm feeling down. She's a source of pure inspiration to me!

#2 French Cake Decorating from Tumblr
There's something so satisfying about watching cake icing videos and this one is 1:48 minutes of pure pleasure. Everything in it looks so so delicious and it's can be an absolute enemy on days when you're hungry or trying to eat healthy but I always love watching it. The first time I saw it I actually replayed a few too many times.

#3 Instagram : Doughmestichousewife
Carrying on the theme of icing and sugary goodness, here's an instagram account I've recently followed and become obsessed with. She basically does cookie decoration and icing and they are some of the prettiest pieces of art I've ever seen. I love her videos particularly showing how she ices them and again the satisfaction of watching those is something I cannot describe. So go have a look at her page. I binge watch her video bits a lot.

#4 18 Photos that will make any 90s stationary geek's heart soar
I'm a huge stationary geek and I actually distinctly remember every cool piece of stationary I used to own as a child and I am still secretly ( not so much anymore) collecting bits and pieces whenever I can (as you can notice in my stationary haul). I spotted this little nostalgia list on Comedy Central's Snapchat and it was so cool to see all these amazing things I owned and treasured as a kid. My favourite item would have to be these "every colour" pens. I loved buying a ton of them and keeping them safe in my pencil case because they used to be stolen like.. all the time!

#5 Youtube : It's Alright by Charity Vance
She is a singer songwriter on youtube and one of my biggest inspirations. She used to always remind me of Taylor Swift(the old one) because of the style of her songs and her voice. I have been a huge fan of her songs and this particular one is such a happy song. The video is of her with her girlfriends having a girly day together. It honestly makes me smile and reminds me of high school. It's sweet, girly pop and it'll be one of my favourite songs forever although she also has some other incredible songs as well. You may have heard a couple on other beauty youtuber's videos.
(I was absolutely heartbroken when I went to look for the link for the video.Charity has deleted all her youtube vidoes, twitter, instagram etc and she hasn't said anything to her fans yet. She had stopped uploading songs for a couple of months now but she was still active on social media. Thankfully, I was able to find a link to the original video which was re-uploaded by another user but I seriously hope she's fine and she will make music again.)

#6 The Graham Norton Show Compilations
I love the Graham Norton show and I do follow all seasons quite regularly but my favourite episodes are the season compilations where they put the funniest and cutest moments from every episode into a montage including the best "red chair" story. I love these episodes because they are a constant laugh riot and instantly lifts my mood up, I like having a marathon of the compilations too sometimes because they are usually so well edited and I also get to see something from any episodes that I've missed. I do tend to forget to watch it on TV so I usually catch up online or on youtube(where they also share specific moments).
I am thinking of making this a series on the blog if it's something that will interest people :) I have tons of stuff to share!

Another season has flown by and I cannot even begin to talk about how surprised I am. The first half of 2016 is over and I didn't even notice when that happened. Perhaps, I'm a little late with this post as it's been "full-blown" summer for a while now but I've got a lot of favourites from this spring. so let's get into it!

Beauty Favourites

BEAUTY: Night Creams have never really been a part of my routine, especially because they tend to be really thick and heavy and I hate the feeling of having it on my face before going to bed as it's really humid where I live. However this Aloe Soothing Night Cream is light and moisturising at the same time without being super sticky. It really adds a glow to my skin the next morning whenever I use it. Next up is my precious new discovery, Bio Oil which I have already got a 'in depth' post about here but honestly it has done wonders for my leg scars to make them summer ready! I have two favourite lip products - a bright orangy red which screams summer more than spring but I think there's no denying that it's the most flattering shade to wear with most outfits at any time of the year.The Maybelline's Bold Matte Lipstick in Matte 4 is a beautiful and (almost)matte shade without being drying at all. Another lip product I've been getting a lot of use out of is my Makeup Revolution Lip Velour in 'Can't we just make love instead'. Apart from having a really sassy name, this shade of nudey pink is the perfect spring shade and also lasts a good few hours on me. The Freedom Decadence Palette has been my go-to everyday eyeshadow palette and I've been in love with the darker reddish/plummy hues so much as they're clearly more used than the lighter colours. The final beauty product is actually my holy grail concealer - Maybelline Fit Me Concealer which is honestly a life saver every single morning as I do have to wake up super early on weekdays.